The dance is the thing, but the thing is all about the people.
I knew that, by taking dance classes, I would meet new and interesting people, but when I first walked into a Salsa dance class, I had no idea of what to expect or where I would go. I didn't even know which clubs were good for dancing, or if anyone was even bothering to dance in the clubs.
For me, the decision to learn social dancing rather than, say, duck hunting or barrel riding, was largely a matter of personal choice. I knew I would enjoy dancing but the entire prospect was a bit daunting. Dance schools and dance clubs were a world I had never explored. I didn't know if I would like the people or the environments.
What helps us all is to have a mentor when we are just learning a new skill set or starting a new career. With dance, you are both learning new skills and launching a new career. It doesn't have to be a business career. It is a social career. A mentor can help you get past some tough hurdles and open doors for you.
The two people I'm profiling in this section, The Wandering Salsero and Geno Salsero, are serving as mentors to the dance community through their blogs.
It would have been helpful if I could have read sites like these blogs when I first got into Salsa dancing. I wasn't breaking any new ground. People have been dancing for thousands of years. Social Latin dancing has been practiced for centuries, and has been a popular phenomenon throughout North America for decades. I was definitely covering well-trodden ground.
I suppose that, having been involved in the online world for many years, where you always seem to find someone who has gone before you, I was a bit spoiled by not having the answers to so many questions available in a FAQ.
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My own anecdotes probably won't help you much, to be honest. I have selected them mostly for entertainment. People tell me I tend to lecture too much, and that is probably so.
But Art (the Wandering Salsero) and Geno are in a position to introduce thousands of future Houston dancers to the clubs and teachers they interact with. You never know what will happen, or whether the Latin dancing community will grow, diminish, or stay about the same. But one or both of them will continue writing about Houston Salsa (I hope -- I sincerely enjoy reading their articles). Maybe we'll see something unfold through their eyes.
I think these blogs are exemplary of the kind of useful information the Internet is still good for finding, although it is becoming increasingly difficult to find good information about anything. It seems everyone is out to make a fortune on the Internet.
Much as I wouldn't mind being rich, my life experiences are a wealth of treasures I don't want to lose. But I share them freely because other people have freely shared their experiences with me. Art and Geno are also sharing freely.
You don't have to live in Houston to have access to a great community of fun people. If you look around, you may find you already live in a town with a thriving Salsa scene. Or maybe you can help launch one. The bottom line is that you have options, and maybe you haven't considered these options before.
It's your life. Live it well, as we strive to live ours well.
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